Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Yesterday, as I was running along the C & O Canal I was reminded about what an excellent fishing spot it is. For one thing, there was a guy who was actually reeling in a fish as I was jogging by, and for another, there were plenty more fish visible from the towpath.

The water level in the canal fluctuates widely based on location, weather and other factors. Depending on where you're standing along the tow path, it may be little more than large puddle, and at other locations and times, it's multiple feet deep.

What I Like About The Bag

I think the size is about right. It's big enough to hold plenty of stuff (see below), but small enough to be out of the way.

The styling is about as neutral as can be. It's a black canvas bag with a small brown patch on it. It's not some neon green sporty thing that's fine in the outdoors, but looks out of place in an office (not that I spend much time in an office). It's also not some formal leather thing that's overkill for carrying my crap around town.

The simple fold-over-flap configuration is working well. It has a zipper on the main compartment, but I don't bother with it. I love that the bag has no Velcro and is silent to get into and has no zipper that can break. The magnetic closure on the flap works well, too.

The build quality of the bag, especially considering it was $22, seems solid.

The shoulder bag approach wears well in the heat. We took a hike yesterday and I carried the bag: whatever discomfort I had with a single shoulder bearing the weight was more than made up for with a cool back. Carrying a backpack during a DC summer is a guaranteed way to end up a hot sweaty mess of a back.

Using two carabiners I'm able to attach the bag to my bike rack, turning it into a rudimentary pannier.

What I Don't Like About The Bag

I'm not blown away by the pockets in the bag. The one pocket on the outside is the biggest offender: it's just too small to hold my Galaxy 5 Note. The internal pockets aren't anything special either, and I'm not really sure what the designers had in mind for them. With that said, as you can see below, my stuff tends to be in their own little packages. So having one large, functional pocket in the bag, works well for me.

One disadvantage of having a canvas bag that's relatively well made is that it's heavy, at least when compared to other lighter-weight options. The part of me that is always thinking of ways to trim ounces just can't get behind canvas. That part of me is rooting my next buy to be the Z-Packs Multi-Pack. But canvas is durable and looks appropriate under a wide set of circumstances, so it's hard to argue with.

At times I think the bag is too small. The problem: it's a bit too perfect a fit for my essentials. For example, I can't easily fit my DSLR into it or cram a large hard cover book that I've picked up at the library in it. This isn't the fault of the bag. The very thing that makes it work (it's relatively small size) is also what makes it questionable. I've had the bag for about 2 months now, and more often than not, the smaller size of the bag works. But still, perhaps my next bag needs an expand-o feature of some sort. When I travel, I won't be surprised if I turn to a larger bag, one ready to hold camera gear, guidebook, windbreaker, etc.

The bag isn't invisible. This is another fact of life. Even with neutral styling, there's no doubt I stand out when other guys aren't carrying bags. But who wants to cram a Galaxy Note 5 into their front pocket of their jeans? And who wants to arrive somewhere and realize their phone is down to 15% battery and have no way to recharge it? And who wants to be stuck in traffic and be hungry enough to eat their own arm off, only to not have snacks on hand? Every time I leave the bag at home I get reminded that there's something in there that's handy. Oh yeah, that's why I carry the stinking bag in the first place. Still, black canvas or not, it stands out.

Bottom line: the bag itself, especially accounting for the low price tag, really does deliver on what it promised. It's a small bag that looks about as plain vanilla as possible, and the simple large-flap design Just Works. As a general purpose EDC bag, it's a winner.

Red Zippered Bag: more odds & ends. Contains snacks, various over the counter medications, various types of tape, a bic lighter, some TP, a heatsheet emergency blanket and a USB cable and wall plug.

Red Flask: an 8oz soft flask holding, alas, water. I had pretty much dodged the trend of carrying a water bottle everywhere, and then I started getting in to the habit. Then I switched to a smaller bag and my usual 18oz bottle wouldn't fit in the bag any longer. I compromised with the 8oz flask. It fits perfectly and 8oz is surprisingly refreshing when you're thirsty. If nothing else, it's handy for taking pills or other times when you just need a quick nip of a drink.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

With summer fast approaching, Shira and I have started thinking about where we want to take our Nieces and Nephew camping. One of the closest primitive camping options is the Chopawamsic Backcountry Area in Prince William Forest. The campsites are accessible via a 2.2 mile loop. We wondered: would the relatively short hike make for an accessible backpacking trip that would be fun for the kids?

A week or so ago it hit me: uh, why don't we just go and check the area out? Today good weather and our schedules conspired to give us an opportunity to do just this.

Here's a bit of useful intel: even if you're planning to just day-hike in Chopawamsic, your first stop needs to be at the visitor center. Along with paying your park entry fee, you'll go through the usual permiting process and the park ranger will give you a key to the gate. From there, you can head to the turn off at Breckenridge Road, and start down a spooky looking 1 lane road.

Useful bit of intel #2: when you see this sign, you're going the right direction

Once we got these logistics sorted out, finding the parking lot and trail was a breeze.

We did the 2.2 mile loop with ease. It has a few hills in a couple of places, but it's not especially challenging. Much of it is under forest canopy, so there's no summit or breathtaking view that's your destination. Of course, little wonders abound, but that's true of any outdoor space you truly take the time to explore.

Throughout the loop there are turn offs to each of the 8 campsites. We were especially impressed with #3, though, we didn't explore them all in detail. All the campsites looked clean and well maintained.

There's a trail down to the Breckinridge Reservoir which we didn't take. That would have probably exposed us to completely different terrain.

After mulling it over, I doubt we'll plan to do our next kids camp-out there. I'm sure it would work well enough, but the benefits of a state campground are just too numerous to pass up: cooking over a real fire, hitting the beach for swimming, no-stress campsite selection and not to mention, clean restrooms. I'm excited to take the kids backpacking, but I think we'll hold off another year or two.

We certainly had a great time exploring this new section of park and I'm psyched to add it the my list of next-door-nature options.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

From a discussion over at edcforums comes this tip from a Police negotiator:

[I carry] 3 pages of easel pad sized paper - Several years ago I stumbled across a pad of large easel sized paper that had the sticky adhesive on the back making them like GIGANTIC sized sticky notes. After some contemplation, I used waxed paper to create a backing for the sticky adhesive strip. Once the adhesive was covered I folded the sheets down to a size suitable to fit in my ziplock bag "first responder" kit. Now, when I'm in my patrol car and am on scene of a situation I can pull out these large sheets of paper, pull the wax paper backing off and stick them to the side of my patrol car (Tahoe) to start some very rudimentary situation boards. This has saved my rear end a couple of times and most of my team has adopted the idea and carry them also.

To be able to turn any space, even a collection of parked cars, into an information and strategy center is incredibly powerful. I could easily see how this setup, plus anti-Blah Blah Blah skills, could go a long way towards organizing a response to a high pressure and fluid situation.

The super sized Post It notes this officer is referring to can be found here, and while they're probably a great value, they aren't cheap enough for me to consider them an impulse buy. Still, I'll keep an eye out for them, perhaps I can catch a deal? You just never know when you'll need to improvise a coding design session or work out a Lego army attack strategy.

Related to this is the old whiteboard marker on a car-window hack. Though a few poster size sheets of paper are far easier to read than scribbles on a window. And the paper serves as a permanent record, too.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Yesterday we walked next to some pine trees which had some limbs lopped off. The result, the trees were oozing pine resin:

While I've yet to experiment with pine pitch, it apparently makes a durable, permanent, waterproof glue. It's sort of nature's duct tape, limiting you only by your imagination (OK, technically it's more like nature's sugur, but everyone knows what duct tape is).

To use pine resin you need to process it. Here's a video that explains how to prepare the stuff and another video that explains how to use it:

In this same stand of trees, there were these itty bitty pine cones:

If my research is correct, they're a edible. As a Scout, a learned early that pine trees are a natural source of turpentine, which is terrifically flammable. To this day, I know if I can find a heap of dry pine needles, a fire will be easy to start. But that's just the beginning of the pine tree's value, there's lots more it offers.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

I first learned of Piet Hein when a friend from shul introduced me to his pithy poems, known as Grooks. Here's a sample:

THE ROAD TO WISDOM

The road to wisdom?—Well, it’s
plain and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again,
but less
and less
and less.

And here, click refresh a few times to see a number of his poems:

Hein's poems go beyond simply being clever. They often seem to make a point that you're familiar, but they do so in a cryptic way. This obfuscation is actually a good thing, as it requires you to think through the text rather than accepting it the way we would a well worn cliche. Using complexity to find simplicity, now that's impressive.

But Hein is more than just a poet with a knack for creating pithy packets of wisdom. For one thing, he was a poet with a purpose.

Piet Hein, who, in his own words, “played mental ping-pong” with Niels Bohr in the inter-War period, found himself confronted with a dilemma when the Germans occupied Denmark. He felt that he had three choices: Do nothing, flee to “neutral” Sweden or join the Danish resistance movement. As he explained in 1968, “Sweden was out because I am not Swedish, but Danish. I could not remain at home because, if I had, every knock at the door would have sent shivers up my spine. So, I joined the Resistance.”

Taking as his first weapon the instrument with which he was most familiar, the pen, he wrote and had published his first “grook”. It passed the censors who did not grasp its real meaning.

CONSOLATION GROOK

Losing one glove
is certainly painful,
but nothing
compared to the pain,
of losing one,
throwing away the other,
and finding
the first one again.

The Danes, however, understood its importance and soon it was found as graffiti all around the country. The deeper meaning of the grook was that even if you lose your freedom (“losing one glove”), do not lose your patriotism and self-respect by collaborating with the Nazis (“throwing away the other”), because that sense of having betrayed your country will be more painful when freedom has been found again someday.

Hein's messaging brings to mind the Hashtag Activism of today. While it absolutely has its limits, it also has great power. Well crafted messages matter. Hein took this a step further, of course, hiding his messages in plain sight.

Hein, for his part, invented the idea of a Grook. It was similar to other forms of poetry, yet he made it his own. When Arik Fraimovich developed a way to tint Twitter avatars green with one click, he too, found an innovative way to spread a message. Yes, the effect got tiresome, but it still raised awareness to levels one might never have thought possible. Hein knew that there's more than one way to offer resistance, and we should learn from his example.

Finally, it's worth noting that Hein wasn't a poet. He was a scientist. He was a mathematician. He was a designer. He was an inventor. We're so used to categorizing people as either artists or scientist; author or mathematician; it's a pleasure to be reminded that we need not make this distinction.

Take some time to get lost in his poems, they are both delightful and profound.

As for me, I couldn't help but embed a number of his Grooks into a randomized web page, and then wire that web page into my Pebble Smart Watch. Brilliant words are now just a few watch button presses away.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Mark over at brainwagon recounted his frustration with an especially tricky KenKen puzzle and like any good programmer turned to a software solution:

Lately, my lunch hours have been spent working on the NYT Crossword with my lunch companion Tom. While I find that the Thursday crosswords are often beyond my ability to do in the allotted time, between the two of us, more often than not we manage to plow through them. Slowly over time, we’ve begun to solve them slightly quicker, so I’ve branched out to doing the KenKen puzzles.
...
By the end up twenty minutes I was annoyed, knew I had made a mistake, but decided to give into the urge to write a program to solve it. How long could it take?

Well, the answer was about 27 minutes.

Well Mark, Challenge Accepted.

After reading his post (and without looking at his solution) I decided I needed to create my own KenKen solver. I busted out my Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Perixx keyboard and a new app configuration: Termux + emacs + TinyScheme and went to work.

After a weekend of thinking through a solution, I had my solver written up fairly quickly:

The program works by taking in a blank puzzle, a dictionary of values to solve with (in a 4x4 puzzle, that would be (1 2 3 4)) and a set of constraints and does a brute force attack to find a combination of symbols that satisfy all the constraints. KenKen puzzles assume that all rows and columns are unique and that clusters of cells either add, subtract, multiply or divide to form a particular value; these form my constraints.

For clarity, the first set of constraints ensure that every row and column is unique, whereas the second set of constraints describe this particular puzzle. For example, grid entries 2, 5 and 4 must add up to 8.

One compromise I made was to have the solver work in terms of a list rather than a grid. The result was that I had to create little paper maps to help me translate from grid to list coordinates:

For 3x3 and 4x4 puzzles my little solution worked. In fact, I spent more time debugging typos in my transcription of constraints than I did in writing the actual core solution. Here's some proof that this actually runs on my cell phone:

Unfortunately, my brute-force solution just doesn't cut it for the 6x6 puzzle Mark was working on. I setup the constraints and kicked the program off:

After hours of waiting for a solution to be spit out, I finally killed the process. Would it eventually complete and give me the answer? Did I have a bug in my constraints or program that insures it won't even give me an answer? I don't know. But for now, I need to put this problem down and return to it when I'm ready to try a new approach.

Mark, my hat is off to you for your 27 minute solution that completes in 1 millisecond! You da man!

While I don't have my solution yet, this was hardly a bust. A few positive notes:

A brute force recursive solution was surprisingly easy to write for this sort of problem, and for small enough problem sets, works well. You essentially leverage the interpreter to gain access to backtracking, rather than needing to build it out explicitly.

Scheme sexpr's make an ideal 'UI' to this sort of problem, with the constraints being comparably easy to read and write without any additional coding effort.

Termux is sweet. I'm not sure it's going to replace GNURoot, but it's certainly a top notch option. The API opens up some impressive scripting options I'm going to have to explore in another post.

TinyScheme is a beast. I threw this massive recursive problem at it and it just chugged away. I let the program spin for hours, and it didn't bat an eye. I suppose that's what Tail Call Optimization is all about, but still, it's remarkable to see it in action.

The solution I came up with is nice and flexible and should work for related puzzles, such as Sudoku. I hope I can keep this general constraint solving nature while also gaining some critical speed.

I wouldn't consider these anywhere near positive ID's yet. I really need to grab more photos of these guys and just as importantly, I need to give them more time to develop.

The Burdock, for example, will become obvious as it develops it's notoriously 'sticky' burrs. They're so effective at attaching to clothing and fur that they were the inspiration for Velcro. Definitely one to watch. The Aster's too should yield more information with time. The more I try to identify plants the more I appreciate that just one snapshot in time isn't anywhere as valuable as catching multiple stages in the life-cycle.

Update:
Looks like what I thought were Asters are actually Fleabane. More proof here.

Notice anything surprising in that video? The Memorial Bridge was (is?) a draw bridge! Who knew? Next time I run over it I'll have to see if I can tell which part of the bridge used to pivot open.

Given the proximity of the bridge to Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon, it makes perfect sense. However, the bridge was built before the Pentagon and before the cemetery expanded due to WWII, so it was actually ahead of its time.

Want to see some truly scary photos? Check out this document provided by the National Park service. It shows just how completely degraded the inside of the bridge is. Yeesh.

Will we get a totally revamped version of the bridge? Will they shut it down forever? Guess we'll have to wait and see...

And here are some Turtles on a log. Why? Because who doesn't love turtles on logs?!

Friday, May 13, 2016

Origami is nice. Oragami that's practical, now that's awesome! I've been experimenting with creating an origami box and while my attempts look pretty rough (Sorry Nick!), they are indeed functional:

That's a box made out of aluminum foil, printer paper, 3x5 note card and a Post-It Note. As you can tell above, the aluminum foil version has water in it and a cork floating around. So yeah, it's water tight.

The note card material was recycled from a TODO list, and the scribbles on it are actually a nice bonus. As for the aluminum foil version, I'm going to have to see what outdoorsy uses I can put it to. Maybe I can find a size that works as a little alcohol stove? We'll see.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Danny Gregory published a wonderful piece a few weeks ago: Let's get rid of Art Education. Danny's 'thing' is art, so I expected the click-bait worthy title to be ironic or be some other form of misdirection. But no, he actually proposes getting rid of art education, and after reading his piece, I think he's on to something.

You should go read the article here, but if you want the quick and dirty summary continue reading:

What's wrong with art education?

I’m no expert on education but I have spent a lot of time in school art programs over the past year. In the lower grades, kids just have fun drawing and painting. They don’t really need much encouragement or instruction. In middle school, the majority start to lose their passion for making stuff and instead learn the price of making mistakes. Art class is all too often a gut, an opportunity for adolescents to screw around. By high school, they have been divided into a handful who are ‘artsy’ and may go onto art school and a vast majority who have no interest in art at all.

In short, every child starts out with a natural interest in art which is slowly drained — until all that’s left is a handful of teens in eyeliner and black clothing whose parents worry they’ll never move out of the basement.

Sounds about right to me. And his proposal?

I propose we get rid of art education and replace it with something that is crucial to the future of our world: creativity.
...
Imagine if Creativity became a part of our core education

Instead of teaching kids to paint bowls of fruit with tempera, we’d show them how to communicate a concept through a sketch, how to explore the world in a sketchbook, how to generate ideas, how to solve real problems. Theatre would be all about collaboration, presentation and problem solving. Music classes would emphasize creative habit, teamwork, honing skills, composition, improvisation.

We’d teach creative process, how to come up with ideas, how to find inspiration, how to steal from the greats. We’d teach kids to work effectively with others to improve and test their ideas. We’d teach them how to realize their ideas, get them executed through a supply chain, how to present and market and share them.

This all dovetails nicely with the concepts explained in in Blah Blah Blah. That is that as students we get extensive education in verbal and written communication, but much in terms of visual communication. In my day, visual communication was essentially for recreation, whereas language skills were for actually getting work done.

Of course, it's been years since I sat in a classroom. And even then, I had teachers who emphasized exactly the kind of creativity Danny is recommending. I'm thinking especially of Math Professor John Ringland who frequently implored me: whenever trying to solve a math problem, draw a picture of it. To this day, I try to implement that advice. So yeah, my guess is that there are plenty of folks who get this already.

But how powerful would it be if teaching creativity was the rule and not the exception?

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

On yesterday's run we made our way through my favorite meadow. This time the area was filled with clover. I'm not talking about the anemic stuff that manages to dodge the lawn mower blade; I'm talking about heaps of healthy plants. And among the white clover was this beautiful pink variety:

A little research shows that it's actually red clover, and is a common wild edible. It has a history of being used in a medical context, and apparently has a high content of isoflavones, which the body converts into something like estrogen.

Next time I'm passing through, I'll have to pick up a few flowers to nibble on. Who knows, maybe they will help with my hot flashes ;-).

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Yeah, grain alcohol is a great liquid multi-tool and although I started EDC'ing it for the stove, the truth is that it is now more important than the stove for my EDC. In addition to stove fuel, booze, and medicinal uses, it's also been my primary: fire starter, hand sanitizer, wet-wipe sponge bath, pot/utensil cleaner/sanitizer, glass cleaner (flashlight/eyeglass/iProduct), and solvent for glue residue, pine sap, greasy food stains, bird crap, etc. It's even TSA carry-on approved (in a 100ml container) under the medicinal/rubbing alcohol exception :D.

I've been carrying hand sanitizer in my bag for some time now, and when you need it, you really need it, so it's earned a place there. But I think Reppans is right: if I swap out hand sanitizer with Everclear grain alcohol (190 proof, baby!), I'll get all the benefits of a super potent hand sanitizer, plus a more reliable fuel source, plus something you can drink. Who knows when you'll need an emergency L'Chaim, right? Heck, it works as deodorant, too.

One hurdle to this plan: Everclear isn't legal to sell here in Virginia. Luckily, it's available across the river in DC. So on yesterday's run I stopped by Potomac Wines & Spirits and picked up a bottle. Given the status of Everclear in Virginia, I felt a little like an outlaw purchasing the stuff, shoving it into my hydration pack and taking off running. Though the clerks didn't bat an eye when I requested it, and would gladly have upsold me to the half-gallon size. Yikes.

The trickier part is finding the right container to carry around the alcohol. Ideally, it would be compact, completely sealed, durable and offer an easy way to dispense the liquid. Looking around, I've found a few different options:

The hand sanitizer on the left is for scale purposes. It holds 1oz and does it quite well. Next up is a very cheap plastic bottle, 2oz bottle. I've added some Saran Wrap under the lid to try to improve the seal. So far, this seems like the worst option. Next is a spritzer dispenser. It appears to hold less than the 2oz bottles, but the spritzer means that it's much more efficient to actually use the alcohol, which is key. Finally, the orange silicone bottle is 2oz and seems much more durable than the other bottles.

For now I'm going to try out the spritzer bottle. What I lose in quantity I think I make up for in efficient delivery. A couple of spritzes, and your hands are evenly covered in alcohol, versus pouring out an unknown quantity and hoping for the best.

So there you have it, clean your hands, disinfect your wounds and drown your sorrows all with item.

Monday, May 09, 2016

Man, what a fun weekend! We kicked it off with a trip to Hillwood Estate, the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, which is a fascinating art museum and gardens. While it's on a smaller scale than the Smithsonians, it has a really quirky and interesting collection of items. It was raining so we skipped perusing the gardens. However, stepping into the greenhouse was like taking a trip to an exotic land--the orchids and other plants were just bursting with color.

Shabbat was spent in a pretty low key fashion, except for the very rousing series of Bananagram games. We played 4, and Mom, Aunt Gina and Ron each won one (I don't recall who won the 4th). I wish I could say I was throwing the games to let our guests win, but yeah, I'm just too slow. Still, it was lots of fun.

Yesterday we hit up an Orioles Game. While they are a rival of our home team (Go Nats!), we couldn't help be be impressed by the game. There were back to back home runs, and even a grand slam on a 3-2 count. The A's never had a chance. Shira got us amazing seats which put me in the perfect position to snap tons of photos. Oh, and the Kosher food offered at the ballpark was quite yummy.